Five Moments
by Rikka92
Summary: It's Tidus and Yuna's wedding and Wakka thinks back to five moments where he knew he was in love with an Al Bhed. But if he doesn't say anything to her, he could lose her forever.
1. Chapter 1

**So, I have NEVER written for FFX before, so this story may be riddled with errors. I have played the game numerous times, but there are still some things I get confused on. While playing the game for like the 10th time, I became very obsessed with the Rikku/Wakka pairing. I thought they'd be so cute! Personally, I think they are perfect for one another. Wakka/Lulu just doesn't _work_ for me(sorry to those fans of this pairng). Wakka is almost like a kid and Lulu is just too serious for him. To my dismay, I have found that there is hardly ANY stories on this pair and many of the longer ones are incomplete, so I decided to write one of my own. This is written strictly for myself and for fun, but I decided I'd put it on here as well in case there were others in my same dilemma of not finding anymore Rikku/Wakka fics to read.**

**This is also an AU after the end of FFX. The events of FFX-2 will be totally ignored. Also, in this fic Rikku would be the same age as Yuna, so she'll be almost 20 and I'll have Wakka be 24. Really their ages don't matter at all in this fic!**

**This was also supposed to be only a oneshot, but the first part grew too long and I decided to split it up. There should be two more parts after this and I DO plan on finishing it! I hope someone out there likes this! :)**

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><p><strong>Two Years After the Defeat of Sin<strong>

Wakka would have liked to say that Tidus and Yuna's wedding would be the first wedding he'd attend, but, unfortunately, it wasn't. True, the previous wedding he had to witness was not by his choice and if he could, he would have never attended. Yuna wouldn't have been the bride, either. He shuddered as the memory of Seymour Guado kissing Yuna came to mind.

"What'cha thinkin' about?" Rikku was suddenly there, elbowing him in the side as her normal greeting.

"Seymour," he blurted out. Realizing too late how bad that sounded, but like every stupid thing he's said to Rikku, he just waited for her to tease him.

"Ew! Didn't know you were into Guado. Well, at least not totally evil Guado, anyway." Then with a plop, she sat beside him on the dock with her long legs swinging just above the clear blue waters of Besaid.

_ No, just Al Bhed,_ he wanted to say. Really, in the two years since beating sin, Wakka had found out how much he cared about the Al Bhed girl sitting next to him and it unnerved him, greatly.

"Wakka," Rikku's voice was unnaturally serious. "Is there something wrong?"

"Nah, just thinkin' about nothin', really." In all actuality, he just wanted to get away from the zoo his village had become in preparing for Yuna's wedding. Lulu looked like she was going to kill him with one of her spells at any moment if he didn't get out of everyone's hair.

"Yunie's wedding is in a couple hours."

Wakka sighed and leaned back on his elbows. "I know." The weather was, of course, beautiful for an outdoor wedding and since the fall of Yevon, he didn't know whom to thank for it. Maybe it was all just luck.

"Brother's really upset about it," Rikku continued, mimicking his position and stared up at the clear, blue sky.

"Isn't he rel-?"

"Related to her? Yeah, I know. I told him, but it doesn't seem to matter. Pop's the one who has to deal with him on the airship, so I just stay out of it."

They fell into a companionable silence and Wakka's mind wandered to a time when they weren't so companionable. It had been when he first out that she was an Al Bhed. Those few weeks after finding out the truth, had him and Rikku constantly at each other's throats. Really, he was the one to start most, if not all, the fights between them and it was all because of his stupid, bigoted and hard head. He had always thought of Rikku as a friend before thought. His thoughts may have even started to stray towards more than friends. However, everything crashed that day in Macalania.

He had been so hurt to find out that she was one of the heathens, one of the damned Al Bhed. In an instant, all thoughts of their earlier friendship went out the window, and he had said some very hurtful things to her. Even now, he still felt guilty about them even though RIkku had long since forgiven him.

Then, her Home had to be destroyed and Wakka began to realize that the Al Bhed were people, too, and just because they used the forbidden machina didn't mean that they all deserved to die. He and Rikku had decided on a trust and their friendship had started from the beginning.

"I'm so glad Tidus is back, you know?" Rikku broke him from his thoughts. "Yuna was so sad after..." She trailed off and focused on her boots as they continued to swing over the water.

After they had defeated Sin for the final time, things had finally started to look up for everyone and then Tidus had to leave. He was some kind of dream of the Fayth, or something like that. Wakka never really understood it. All he knew, was that the boy he began to treat like a brother, was there and then, he was jumping off Cid's airship, along with Auron, and was gone.

"Yeah, I know," he said. Yuna had been devastated with the lost, but only her closest friends could tell. As the summoner who beat Sin for good, she couldn't let anyone see how depressed she felt. She had to act as if she hadn't suffered a great lost and after awhile it had started to take its toll on her. So, she retired to Besaid and refused to leave the island for anything. People came to her, which was fine, but she refused to travel and Wakka understood. He had suffered great loss as well. Tidus' death had him hard, too, and he began to wonder if he wasn't meant to have a brother, blood or not.

Then, a year after Sin was defeated, Tidus showed up in Besaid. Alive and whole. Everyone had been skeptical, at first. All of them wondering if he'd suddenly leave again, but after a year of being constantly by Yuna's side and not showing any signs of suddenly fading away, they decided it was time they got married.

"How come you and Lulu haven't tied the knot, yet?" Rikku looked over at him and asked.

Wakka sat up, surprised at the question. It wasn't that the thought of marrying Lulu hadn't crossed his mind, but it was more of a brotherly obligation to Chappu than having any actual feelings for her. Lulu was a dear friend, a _sister_ and though he had acted hurt when she rejected him, deep down he had been relieved. It hadn't helped that his mind was plagued with images of a certain Al Bhed girl, with her tan skin and wheat-colored hair, the moment Lulu had said 'no'.

"Jus' wasn't meant to be, ya?" He said nonchalantly. Hoping that Rikku would change the subject to something else.

"Aw, she rejected you, huh?" She elbowed him again him and gave him a bright smile. All perfect teeth and tanned skin.

Wakka narrowed his eyes at her and didn't say anything.

"Hey, I'm just kidding, okay!" She must have taken his silence as him being hurt by her words. "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings!" Rikku wrapped her skinny arms around his bicep and looked at him, swirly green eyes pleading for forgiveness.

Wakka forced his face into a stern mask and attempted to glare down at the Al Bhed on his arm.

"Any woman would be lucky to have you, Wakka! She's missing out. I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me!" Her grip on him tightened.

_ Would you consider yourself lucky to have me, Rikku?_ He wanted to say, but knew he never could.

When it looked like she was actually about to cry, he finally stopped the act and broke out into a grin. "It's all right, Rikku. I ain't mad. Me and Lu work better as brother and sister, not as a married couple, ya?"

Rikku shoved him away and stood up. "You were never mad at me to begin with, you big meanie!" She stomped her foot angrily and he had to laugh.

Wakka stood up and joined her, still laughing. Getting Rikku riled up was one of his favorite things to do. In the past two years, they had grown close. Closer than they had been before the Macalania incident and Wakka knew that his feelings for her to be one-sided. Rikku was impulsive and if she liked him more than a friend did, wouldn't she have shown it by now?

"Rikku! Wakka!" Someone called from behind them and they turned to see Tidus running up the dock to them. He wasn't dressed for the wedding, yet, and when he stopped in front of them, he bent over and tried to catch his breath. "You two better get back to the village. Lulu is tearing the place up looking for Rikku and to be safe than sorry, Wakka you should come back, too."

Rikku had a sheepish grin on her face. "Oopsies. I was supposed to go by Lulu's and get dressed an hour ago. Well, um, see you later!" Then, she was off like a shot towards the village.

"Lu's goin' to have her head," Wakka muttered and followed Tidus off the dock and on to the beach.

"Hey, man, you were the one sitting there and talking to her," Tidus said with smile.

"She didn't have to stay!" Wakka protested. Though, he was glad she did.

Tidus just shook his head. "I hope she catches Yuna's bouquet." The statement seemed to come out of no where.

Wakka scratched the back of his head, not understanding what his friend was talking about. "What?"

"Oh, well, in my Zankarkand, after the wedding the bride throws her bouquet of flowers at a group of women behind her and whoever catches it is said to be the next one to get married." Tidus explained.

"Ya want Rikku to get married?" Wakka was confused. Did she have a secret boyfriend somewhere that she wasn't planning on telling anyone?

"Of course not! Well, I mean, yeah, someday, but not right now."

"Then, what are you sayin'?" Wakka stopped in his tracks and Tidus followed, looking slightly put out.

"Maybe if she catches the bouquet you two act on this thing that's going on between you two!"

"What? There isn't anythin' between-"

"Oh, shut up, Wakka," Tidus groaned, having heard the same excuse from him a million times before. "Let's have a race back to the village." He changed the subject. "If you win, I'll stop bugging you about Rikku and if I win, you have to ask her to dance, tonight. Deal?"

Wakka thought a moment. Tidus was fast, but it had been two years since he had last trained for Blitzball and Wakka was in the middle of his training. He had more of a chance to win, so he agreed.

Wakka lost the race.

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><p><strong>Sadly, I will not be bringing Auron back, as well. I loved him as a character, but in this story he won't be making an appearance. But, then again, sometimes plans do change! I think this story will be longer than three chapters if I brought him back.<strong>

**The next chapter should be the start of those five moments Wakka will be thinking about. Once again, that will happen if everything goes as planned!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Just want to apologize for the really long wait! I just finished playing FFX-2 and got inspired to start writing for this story, again! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I'm thinking it's going to be more than 3 chapters, but I'm not for sure, yet. I guess we'll have to see! ;)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Rikku looked on at the happy couple as they danced their first dance as a married couple. She was very happy for Yunie. That whole year without Tidus must have been a nightmare, yet Yuna lived through it and this was her award.<p>

"So beautiful..." She smiled, still watching the dancing couple and Lulu, who sat next to her, nodded in agreement. The older woman had practically planned the whole thing herself, of course, everything went according to plan, and the wedding was prefect. Rikku suspected, though, Yuna would have thought the wedding was perfect even if she had to walk down the aisle in nothing but a box.

"I have never seen Yuna this happy before," Lulu mused with a smile of her own. Lulu rarely smiled and Rikku was glad to see that the older woman had done a lot of smiling today.

"Tidus makes her happy, ya?" Wakka said from the other side of Rikku. He had been oddly silent the whole time and Rikku could tell he was deep in thought. She didn't know about what, but knew that she would be asking him later.

The happy couple breezed past their table, Tidus seemed to give Wakka a knowing look, and Rikku had to look back at the man behind her in hopes to understand what had just transpired between the two. Wakka wore his poker face and she turned back to the dance floor, disappointed.

Once the music ended, Yuna walked up to Kimarhi, giggling and asked him to dance. Tidus went up to Lulu, who surprisingly agreed to a dance, and that only felt Wakka and Rikku at the table. More and more couples walked over to the dance floor. Rikku sighed wistfully, wishing someone would ask her to dance.

"Uh, Rikku?" Wakka spoke, his voice betraying that he was nervous. "Wanna dance?" It was as if he had read her mind and she eagerly agreed. Tidus winked at them once they positioned themselves on the dance floor and waited for the music to begin.

It was a slow number, and Wakka stiffened in her arms. "What's the matter?" She asked, green eyes sparking in mischief. "Don't know how to dance?"

"Course I do." To prove it, he pulled her even closer and led her gracefully on the dance floor. Rikku didn't even know that Wakka _knew_ how to be gracefully. The man always had a large presence and announced himself loudly when he walked into a room. Just like her.

_ Maybe they were meant to be..._

Rikku had to force those thoughts down. Long ago, she had accepted the fact that Wakka would never look at her romantically. There had even been a brief period where he had _hated_ her. She knew he could never come to love her. In the back of his mind, she would always just be the _Al Bhed_.

"Somethin' wrong?" This time it was Wakka voicing his concerns. "Is my dancin' that bad?"

"No." Quickly she shook her head and gave him a wide smile. "It's great!" Rikku had to look away, though, when his eyes narrowed slightly and began to study her.

"You'd tell me if there was somethin' wrong, ya?"

"Of course!" She was back to her bubbly self. "You're my best friend! Well, best guy friend, anyway." His eyes softened at being called her best friend. Two years ago, after the incident of Macalania, those words would have never been used to describe them.

When the music changed to a faster tempo, both of them didn't notice until Yuna came and whisked Rikku away to dance. It took Rikku a second to realize that she was no longer looking into Wakka's brown eyes anymore. Now, she was watching her cousin's flushed, happy face as they danced around in a circle. Looking over she saw Tidus talking with Wakka off to the side.

"I'm going to have to do a lot of work if I want my wedding to be as good as yours, Yunie!" Rikku talked over the thumping music and hoped her cousin had heard.

"Why, Rikku, do you plan on getting married soon?" From her expression, Rikku could tell that Yuna was teasing. Something she was getting much better at.

Rikku shrugged. "You never know. I'm going to be gone for six months. Who knows, maybe there will be a nice Al Bhed man that may strike my fancy." She winked and Yuna giggled.

"I almost forgot that you were leaving in the morning. Do you really have to go?"

"I've been putting it off for too long. Pop's and brother have been bugging me about it for months." She rolled her eyes.

Yuna leaned in close. "Have you told Wakka, yet?" She whispered. Rikku froze in place, and ignored the dancers that bumped into her.

"No, I haven't. Probably should, right?" She gave Yuna a weak smile. She had been putting off telling Wakka about her leaving and for reasons, she wasn't sure of.

"You probably should." Her friend wasn't smiling, anymore. "He'd be mighty upset if he woke up tomorrow and you weren't around anywhere."

"I'll tell him, tonight," she said. "Probably should have told him sooner. Now, he doesn't have time to buy me a farewell gift." This time when Rikku laughed, Yuna joined her. She hoped that her cousin couldn't tell that it was a fake laugh. Telling Wakka about her departure was going to be hard. Of all the people she had come to know on Besaid, he would be the one she'd miss the most.

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><p>The party was winding down. Only Luna, Rikku and Wakka remained sitting at the dozen tables that had been set up for the wedding. They had all just said good-bye to the happily married couple, and if anyone wondered why Yuna hung on longer to Rikku than the rest of them, then they didn't say anything.<p>

"See you in six months," Yuna whispered into Rikku's ear before placing a kiss on her cheek. Tidus took her hand and led her away to the house they would be calling their own. In the morning, they would be leaving as well to go on their honeymoon. A small house in Macalania waited for them. It had been Tidus's wedding gift to Yuna and the location had special meaning to the couple. A meaning they had not told anyone.

Rikku had thought it all romantic.

"Want me to walk you back to Yuna's?" Wakka's voice startled her and she looked to see that it was just them two sitting at the table.

"Um, sure." Yuna had given Rikku her old home, now that she no longer needed it. "I-I have to talk to you, anyway." She hated how nervous she sounded.

"Uh, okay." Did Wakka look nervous, too? No, it was just her overactive imagination playing tricks on her.

Together they began the short trek back to the village. "So, uh, you know how my Pop's is rebuilding Home, right?"

"Yeah, I knew that." Wakka bobbed his head.

"Well, he's been waiting me to help for months, now." She took a deep breath. "And tomorrow, I'll be leaving to help out."

"That doesn't sound t-"

"For six months."

"Oh." They stopped walking. Rikku was afraid to look up at Wakka after hearing the disappointment in his voice.

"Yeah." Was all she offered.

"And you're just tellin' me now?" Now, there was a slight hint of anger in his tone. She should have expected all this.

"Didn't know how to tell you." She shrugged and still refused to look at him. "I know you don't like change and stuff." That was a complete excuse. "I'm telling you, now." She said with weak cheer.

"Little late, huh?" With that he stomped off and Rikku had no choice but to watch him go.

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><p>Wakka regretted stomping off almost immediately, but he didn't stop walking away from Rikku until he made it back to his hut. Really, he had no reason to get mad at her. She didn't <em>have <em>to tell him. She could have just left the next morning without saying a word. He didn't _want_ to think about why he was so angry, but knew he had to.

He was in love with her. Had been for a while, now, and there was no more denying it. If Tidus knew the true extent of his feelings, then it was probably common knowledge among the village, anyway.

Moping in the doorway to his home, he stopped his thoughts when he heard sniffling. Looking out the doorway, he saw Rikku walk towards Yuna's old hut and watched as she dragged an arm across her face. Great. He had made her cry. That was one thing he vowed to never do _again._

"Rikku!" He called from his doorway and when she didn't acknowledge him, he ran after her. "Rikku, wait." He grabbed her arm before she disappeared inside the hut.

"What?" She was angry.

"I-I'm sorry about earlier." Apologizing had never come easy for him, but it was coming easy, now. "I overreacted and I'm sorry." Wakka hoped that she could tell he was being sincere. He didn't want her to leave in the morning still angry with him.

Wiping away the stray tears, she gave him a smile. Not a full watt one, but it was still a smile. "It's okay. I should have told you, earlier."

"So, uh, when are you leaving tomorrow?"

"Early. Gippal is picking me up and wants us to get there as soon as possible."

Gippal? Rikku's ex-boyfriend, Gippal? She was going to be with _him_ for six months? Wakka saw his chance of ever being with Rikku slipping away right before his eyes. Rikku had been heartbroken when Gippal had ended things with her seven months prior and it had been obvious that she had feelings for him at the time of the breakup. Probably still did, now.

"Well, I'll try to get up to see you off."

"Okay." She smiled. "Well, I should probably get to bed. Hopefully, I'll see you, tomorrow." She went up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodnight."

Wakka was stunned by the kiss, but managed a 'Night' before she disappeared into the hut for the night. He stood there for a few minutes before retreating back to his place.

Stripping from his wedding attire, he replaced them with his sleeping clothes and crawled into bed. With all of the events of the day, Wakka knew he should be exhausted but he felt wide-awake and his mind was racing. Racing with thoughts of Rikku.

Their relationship hadn't always been like it was, now. However, Wakka recalled the moments he found himself falling more and more for the Al Bhed woman. Instead of closing his eyes to dream, he closed them to recall each moment in detail.

If he and Rikku were to never get together, at least he'd have his memories.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**So, this was a year and a half in the making. I recently started to replay FFX again (for the 20th time) and my love for these two returned with a vengeance. I hope you all enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

That night, Wakka couldn't sleep. Memories flooded his mind. Some not so good and others, he longed to replay over and over in his mind. Things like finally defeating Sin, though for a year afterwards, he had lost Tidus, someone he had considered a brother. In those flood of memories, Rikku's smiling, happy face always made an appearance and Wakka remembered to when they had first met.

_**Their First Meeting**__** (Moment One)**_

Wakka had been no stranger to pretty girls, with playing Blitzball and traveling with two in his group. However, when he first came across Tidus talking to Rikku at the Moonflow, his breath caught. The girl was beautiful. Her skin was supple and tan; much like his and her hair was the color of wheat. For a brief second, he was able to see the color of her eyes. A deep, forest green. If only he had taken better notice of them...

It didn't matter now. He didn't hate the Al Bhed. Not anymore.

When the rest of the group joined the two, the girl had stepped forward and cheerily announced that her name was Rikku. Wakka hadn't paid much attention to anything else after that. His eyes seemed to be glued to her, to her skin, her hair, her _everything_.

It wasn't until Lulu and Yuna had gone off to the side with the newcomer and had a little meeting that Wakka looked around. Auron looked stoic and silent as usual, along with Kimarhi. However, Tidus had an odd look on his face and when he caught Wakka's eye, he quickly looked away. Just moments before, he had been happily pointing out the girl who had saved his life when he had come into contact with Sin.

"Sir Auron," Yuna's quiet voice broke Wakka from his thoughts and he saw that the women had finished their meeting. "I would like Rikku to become a guardian."

Wakka couldn't stop a noise from leaving his mouth. Rikku a guardian already? Yuna just met the girl, for Yevon's sake! However, when Auron gave his blessing, Wakka immediately agreed with the decision.

"The more the merrier!" He had called with a smile. Why was he so open to have this girl, this stranger, to become a guardian when he had hesitated with Tidus?

That was the first time Rikku had had some kind of effect on him and Wakka had never forgotten their first meeting.

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><p>Wakka flopped to his back and started up at the ceiling of his hut. Sleep was still evading him and not even the gentle sounds of his beloved island could soothe him to sleep. All his mind could think of was Rikku and how, after tomorrow, he would not be seeing for six months. He wanted to throw off his thin blanket and rush to Rikku's house. He wanted to wake her up and tell her how he felt; so that when she left she knew that she had someone back in Besaid to come back to.<p>

Gippal couldn't have her. Not again.

But he couldn't do it. He couldn't move, though his brain was screaming at him, too. What if she didn't feel the same? What if the affection she showed him on occasion was that of a sister showing love to a brother? He shuddered just thinking about it. He was in love with her. He couldn't bear to see her with someone else.

Wakka wouldn't blame her, anyway, if she didn't think of him like that. Sometimes, he was surprised that they had even become as close friends as they had. Especially with how he had treated her those several days after he had found out she was an Al Bhed. Just thinking about it now had him wincing.

He had been absolutely _terrible_ and in the end, he had been wrong about everything. It was a miracle Rikku hadn't killed him in his sleep or pushed him off her father's airship. It was the least he had deserved.

One night, he had overheard Tidus asking how Rikku was feeling after Wakka had said some pretty nasty things about her, well not _her_ exactly, but the Al Bhed. Her people. She had said that she had almost cried, but quickly told Tidus that she had only been kidding and was used to it. At the time, he hadn't cared very much. Now, he felt terrible.

Wakka had been so stuck in his Yevon mindset and so stubborn back then. It wasn't until after Home's destruction did he start thinking differently and started regretting everything he had said to Rikku.

_**Home's Destruction (Moment **__**#2**__**)**_

The smell of smoke and death invaded Wakka's nostrils as the party ran to Rikku's home. It reminded him slightly of Kilika, except they had come _after_ the destruction not during it.

Up ahead, fiends flew and on the ground, fiends attacked those that were trying to run to safety. One of Rikku's friends was the first casualty that Wakka had witnessed and he had to look away. There was so much death and destruction going on around him. Not only were fiends causing it, but the Guado, as well. Weren't they all supposed to be on the same side against Sin? The Al Bhed were infidels, but they were still people. They still suffered from Sin.

Rikku said goodbye to her departed friend and then, they were on the move again. Powerful fiends continued to jump into their path, but during a brief respite from the fiends, Wakka couldn't help but open his big mouth.

"This place is done for." Fiends were everywhere.

Instead of protesting or yelling at him, Rikku hung her head and said softly, "You're right. You're right, Wakka." She didn't look up at him. "We Al Bhed, we…we weren't always like this. Sin destroyed the island where we all used to live. After that, we were scattered to every corner of Spira." She took a breath. "But then, my dad brought the Al Bhed together again. If we few put our minds to it and worked together, then we could make a new home. Everyone worked hard; we had our Home back again… But now… Why did things have to turn out this way?"

"Rikku..."

Rikku burst into tears, then and embraced Wakka. The action had shocked him, but not enough for him to not return the embrace. No longer was she just _the Al Bhed_, this was a girl who was going to lose her home and had lost people she had cared about.

"Damn those Guado!" He shouted, angry all over again. "What were they thinking?" Rikku buried herself more into his broad chest. At the time, Wakka hadn't found it odd that out of everyone; she had gone to _him_ for comfort. That wasn't something on his mind. But now, he wondered why she had gone to him when he had been so nasty to her before.

"S'okay." Awkwardly, he had patted her shoulder and felt the wetness of her tears on his chest. If only there was something he could do to make her feel better.

"We need to move!" Auron's deep, authoritative voice broke them all out of their reveries and Rikku stepped back to quickly wipe away her tears. Despite everything, fiends were still attacking and they were right in the middle of them. Rikku took out her Devastator and slashed at the fiends with a vengeance. Everyone else followed suit. They were sick of seeing all of the destruction.

When there was a slight pause in the fighting, Lulu turned to Rikku. "Rikku, what is the Summoner's Sanctum?"

Rikku bit her lip, looked at Wakka briefly before turning to Lulu. "The Summoner's Sanctum is where we keep the summoners. We keep them safe there."

"You kidnapped them," Wakka said matter-of-factly and with no malice.

Rikku nodded her head. "I know it's against the teachings and all that..."

Wakka uncrossed his arms and took a slight step toward her. "I know why you did it, but..." Tidus stepped forward, then.

"Well, I sure don't get it Wakka," he said in his brash way. "They might get hurt on their pilgrimage so you kidnap them? I mean, if the summoners don't do their job, then who will beat Sin? You want to protect them, I know. But guardians are there for that. If guardians do their job well, summoners will be safe! Right?" As he spoke his voice got louder and when no one would look him in the eye, he shouted, "Right?!"

No one said a word.

"It's quiet." Kimarhi broke the silence. "Kimarhi go now." And the beast turned and started down the stairs to where Rikku had said the Summoner's Sanctum was. Everyone else took that chance to escape from answering Tidus's questions and ran to follow Kimarhi.

Wakka felt bad for his friend as he ran after Rikku. This whole time, Tidus didn't know what actually happened to summoners when they summoned the Final Aeon. But none of them had the heart to tell him, it was too painful to say the words. Going along on the pilgrimage was bad enough, knowing that Yuna wouldn't be making it back afterwards.

Things only grew worse. Al Bhed bodies littered the ground by the Summoner's Sanctum. They had died protecting the summoners. Dona and Isaaru performed a sending for them and Tidus could no longer hold back. Everything escalated from there and seeing Tidus's reaction to everything that was said, made Wakka feel even worse. All this time, they had let him believe that Yuna would be able to beat Sin and...survive.

After his rant, Tidus calmed down and looked off in the distance, as if he was lost in a memory. Regret was plain as day on his face. All those times he had talked about Zanarkand...

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading!<strong>


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